Saturday, December 31, 2005

Bush Stares Down The Traitors

They may not use the word "treason"; but they are finally going after the traitors...The Justice Department is going to find out who at the New York Times, as well as within the government, has access to, and is releasing, critical classified information regarding the stratagies employed in the war on terror. Via Pajamas Media:The Justice Department has opened an investigation into the leak of classified information about President George W. Bush's secret domestic spying program.The inquiry focuses on disclosures to The New York Times about warrantless surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, officials said.The Times revealed the existence of the program two weeks ago in a front-page story that acknowledged the news had been withheld from publication for a year, partly at the request of the administration and partly because the newspaper wanted more time to confirm various aspects of the program.White House spokesman Trent Duffy said Justice undertook the action on its own, and the president was informed of it on Friday. "The leaking of classified information is a serious issue. The fact is that al-Qaida's playbook is not printed on Page One and when America's is, it has serious ramifications," Duffy told reporters in Crawford, Texas, where Bush was spending the holidays. Catherine Mathis, a spokeswoman for The Times, said the paper will not comment on the investigation.I cannot wait until the ties are revealed between the Times and their sources - my guess is a disgruntled CIA employee, or a Democrat with national security clearance. This is going to be interesting; will the Times (hand in hand with a key Democrat?) be exposed as essentially fighting for al-Qaeda?

Protein Wisdom frames the upcoming tempest perfectly:What we are witnessing here is a battle that was a long-time in coming between a Republican leadership and the press. Leaks by unelected and entrenched foreign policy and intelligence bureaucrats meant to undermine the President in a time of war must carry with them consequences. Attempts by an adversarial press to supercede their mandate and actively work against a sitting administration while claiming neutrality and pretending to objectivity should have consequences.Which is not say we need to round people up and throw them in jail—but rather to suggest that we need not keep up the pretense that such actions are laudable and de facto “patriotic,” particularly when they do damage to the lawful exercise of executive powers meant to protect our national security and, as unobtrusively as possible, allow us to maintain our way of life even during a time of war.